1. Technical Field
This invention relates to a telescoped ammunition round comprising a subcaliber projectile and sabot for the projectile. More specifically, the invention is directed to such telescoped ammunition round, wherein the sabot comprises an integral piston at its aft end for launching the projectile upon firing the ammunition round.
2. Background Art
Telescoped ammunition typically includes a propellant charge having an axial bore or cavity, a projectile housed entirely within the axial cavity of the propellant charge and, optionally, a case around the propellant charge. A telescoped round typically also includes a control tube at the aft end of the axial cavity of the propellant charge. A piston is slidably mounted within the control tube so as to be forwardly movable in response to firing of a booster charge. In U.S. Pat. No. 4,604,954 a telescoped ammunition round is shown comprising such control tube piston, wherein the booster charge is packed within a rearwardly opening cavity of the piston itself. A similar arrangement is shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,335,657 and 4,197,801. In each of these cited patents, the forward end of the control tube piston abuts the rear face of the ammunition round projectile. Thus, upon forward motion movement of the piston in response to the firing of the booster charge, the projectile is moved correspondingly forward into the gun barrel bore.
Where a subcaliber projectile is employed, as is usual in the case of armor piercing projectiles, a discarding sabot typically is used to mount the projectile within the axial cavity of the ammunition round. The discarding sabot usually will provide the driving band for the projectile/sabot assembly. Due to the extremely high propulsive forces generated during firing of an ammunition round and the resulting high rates of acceleration, difficulties have been encountered in maintaining good connection between the projectile and the surrounding sabot. Specifically, the force of the piston against the rear face of the projectile has been known to cause the projectile to be forwardly displaced relative the sabot, whereupon the function of the ammunition round is lost or impaired. Also, when neither integral with the projectile nor trapped in the control tube, the control tube piston causes undesirable debris. Telescoped ammunition rounds comprising a sabot-housed projectile in combination with a control tube piston according to known designs are complex both in design, assembly and function, which complexity introduces undesirable costs and quality control issues in the production of such ammunition rounds.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a telescoped ammunition round comprising a sabot mounted subcaliber projectile which, upon firing, produce reduced debris. It is another object of the invention to provide such a telescoped round having improved sabot separation following exit of the projectile from a gun muzzle. It is yet another object to provide an ammunition round which in preferred embodiments allows use of a rifled gun barrel. It is yet another object to provide a telescoped ammunition round which is less complex in design, assembly and function than certain previously known ammunition rounds of this type. These and additional objects of the invention will be better understood from the following disclosure and discussion of the invention.